The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-05-10

NiOuo ihAacuCc Incy cAcTt through
their cOmpatriots in the service OF
Turkish dignitaries that the Greeks
maintain the pre-eminent position they
there enjoy. And even the most fanat.
ical old-school Turk, who may curse
with bated breath the very existence OF
the giaour, can not get along without
his sdroit, smooth-spoken Greek secre-
tary. dragonan. pipe-bearer, or body
servant. These Levantine or Bryant
inc Greeks must not be COMPOUNDED
with their cousins of Greece proper.
with whom they have hardly any thing
in common save consanguinity and
language. While the real Greeks have,
during the past sixty years, repeatedly
proved to the world that valor and
love of independence are not dead
within them, those Hellenes of Turkey
are above all noted for total lack of
independence and bravery. They are
utterly unconscious of their own deg
radiation. and will readily kiss the hand
that smites them. With all that, it is
curious TO note that the old names of
Greek history revive in those degen-
crate scions of mongrel blood. Mant
newer of wood ia Constantinople
answers to the name of Aristides; many
a great hanger-on to a Moslem Pasha
is Leonidas in name. In fact, it is
pretty safe for any one to call Greek
servant either Aristides or Leonidas if
he does not know his name. Ten
chances to one that it is one of the two.
And it is an almost invariable rule for
the lower class Greeks in the Levant to
give their sons such honored names as
Miltiades, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Pericles, Agesilaos, Themistocles, and
Che like in baptism. / remember how
odd it sounded to me when, in my
lodging at Constantinople, / had to
bawl for Socrates over the banisters,
the said Socrates being a villainous-
looking old man-of-all-work, with q
squint in his eye and a hump on his
back.
Of course, all Greek servants cheat,
lie and steal, for if there ever had been
one who didn't do these things his
name would have been preserved. No
body in the Orient expects any thing
else of Greek servant, and the point
is not to give him more chances to in
dulge these little foibles than one has
to or can afford. AS wages of servants
all over the East are excessively low,
and their earnings consist for the most
part in perquisites of all kinds, legiti-
mate and otherwise, every master of a
household expects to be defrauded and
hoodwinked by his servants. The
question turns only on the amount, and
those servants places where a good
deal of money may be pocketed on the
sly with little fear of detection are
always eagerly sought after. Brides
form, of course. a very large percentage
Of these dishonest gains; but bribery is
considered perfectly reputable for both
parties to the transaction, and brides do
not, therefore, figure in this enumera-
ton of the oriental servants shortcom-
ings. A certain amount of actual pur-
Joining and embezzling is, however,
also deemed permissible by the Turkish
master, If the servant has not been
otherwise derelict Thus, in making |
purchases he may always deduct an en-
forced commission when rendering his
account, and always does. The same |
when he receives money from his en-
ployer.
While all this is. true of the Greek |
and in less degree of the Armenian |
servant in Turkish pay. it is not true
of the Turk when wearing the yoke of
domestic servitude. But real Turks |
seldom deign to accept such chains,
not even the poorest. They prefer to !
leave the shame and the emoluments of |
serfdom alike to men and women of |
other races than theirs. The conditions
of domestic service in the East Indies |
have become pretty well known
through the writings of English novel
lists and travellers, and they form,
indeed, such complex and difficult |
question in themselves as to by far
transcend the limits of this article. |
But domestic service in Persia is field |
hitherto unexplored by writers, and
some details about that may not prove
uninteresting to sufferers from that !
evil-a bad servant
The Persian word for servant is |
''nowker," meaning a man ready to do |
your bidding. A servant Is engaged |
for a year, at the end of which time his |
contract may be renewed or not, at the |
masters pleasure. They receive very
small wages (but much higher than
are customary in India). Under wages
(muyadjib) is understood not only the
pay in money, but also clothes and a |
certain amount of food and shelter. |
OAenew suit of clothes is given every |
year, and. in the way of rations, !
little rice, some bread and tobacco are !